Inventor to fly Skycar from London to Timbuktu

A British adventurer is preparing to set off for Timbuktu in a home-made vehicle which can transform itself from a car into an aircraft in minutes.

On the ground the Skycar runs on a biofuel-powered engine and can accelerate from zero to 100 kilometres per hour in 4.5 seconds.

But with a powerful fan on the rear its take-off speed is 60kph, and once in the air it can fly at speeds of up to around 110 kph, cruising at 600-900 metres with a paraglider-style canopy holding it aloft.

Inventor Giles Cardozo will leave London later today for the 6,000-kilometre trip through France, Spain and north Africa, across the Sahara to the fabled desert city of Timbuktu in Mali.

The journey is expected to take some 40 days.

With four-wheel-drive the car can allegedly deal with the most rugged terrain.

"It's not like a car - it's more like a dune buggy," Mr Cardozo said.

"But no other dune buggy or car has flown like this thing before. It flies brilliantly.

"It flies at about 110 kph and drives at 193 kph, so it's a really cool bit of kit," added the 29-year-old, whose trip is backed by famous British explorer Ranulph Fiennes.